History of Craigleith Quarry
- Craigleith Quarry (2 miles North-West of Edinburgh's city centre) is sited in the south-east corner of the almost circular outcrop of the Lower Carboniferous Craigleith Sandstone.
- The rocks in Craigleith Quarry are 330 million years old. Laid down in the early period of time known as Carboniferous. Scotland was located just South of the equator and had a seasonally wet tropical climate. Craigleith Hill would have been under water.
- Back in 1615, Craigleith Quarry started to produce massive sandstone when the quarry was known as Innerleith or Enderleith.
- On occasions, very large blocks of sandstone were removed from the quarry for specific sites. In 1791 a contract for stones was won for the six pillars at the main entrance of the Old College, at University of Edinburgh South Bridge. Each pillar was 22 ft in height and 3 ft 3 inches at the base. Each pillar weighed nine tons.
- The busiest period of stone being quarried was between 1817 and 1827.
- In (insert year) the Quarry was rented by a George Johnston who shortened the road into City. He also built a railway from the quarry floor up to the quarry bank.
- A Dr Alison noted in 1852 that an 'old Craigleith quarryman' was done at 30, died at 35 and he recommended that men should grow beards and moustaches to act as respirators. It wasn't until 1854 that a Dr Wilson was noting that the trouble lay in the fine irritating sandstone powder and not the sulphur in the stone that was the problem.
- Stone was now being worked intermittently for the next 40 years from a second quarry face which lay immediately to the North-East of the main quarry
- In 1893 no houses were being built entirely of Craigleith stone and it was now used for steps, foundations and rubble.
- The lower rock in the quarry was being used for monuments, grindstones and glass cutting.
- In 1905 there were only 25 workers left in the quarry and the stone was now only being used as rubble and glass cutting.
- In 1915 during WW1 the deserted quarry was used (as a safe remote place) to manufacture TNT by the Lothian Chemical Company. Output of TNT continued until the end of the war in 1919.
- There was an HM Factory operating in Craigleith in 1921
- Quarrying started again in 1922.
- James Miller relates that his father Sir James Miller, founder of James Miller & Partners (from 1986 The Miller Group Limited), in the 1930s bought the land at Craigleith. Sir James told his son that one idea he had was to cut the stone from 'the quarry' with the 'new fangled' diamond tipped saw into thin rectangular pieces with which to clad the outer face of the bungalows which he was erecting at Craigleith. Unfortunately the stone chewed up his diamond saws and the idea was abandoned.
- Sadly, the need for stone declined and in 1941-2 all work had stopped.
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However Craigleith Quarry still remained useful.
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This is taken from an article entitled A SHORT HISTORY OF GRANTON GASWORKS 1968 by John P. Scott. Station Engineer, Granton Gasworks:
'Granton Gas Works was well provided with water resources. In addition to a supply from the towns mains, a disused flooded quarry within the works of, some 10 million gallons capacity provided water for gas cooling, coke quenching and similar operations with used water being returned to the quarry. This was supplemented in 1905 by the acquisition of the flooded CRAIGLEITH QUARRY, 1 3/4 miles from Granton Gas Works, of 190 million gallons capacity. This water was pumped to Granton Gas Works, from which surplus water was returned, being cooled on its passage. Craigleith Quarry's value radically declined due to the reduction of natural drainage into it as housing developments have proceeded.'
That would be the Craigleith and Craigleith Hill housing developments which commenced in the early 1930s.
Granton Gas Works discharged their works refuse and ashes onto the foreshore which continued up until 1950 by which time a substantial amount of reclamation had been achieved. After the above date, disposal of ashes was made into Craigleith Quarry.
In mid 1975 "Millers" moved their HQ from George Street in Edinburgh to the edge of the quarry site where they had their HQ until 2006.
- In the early 1990s the quarry saw the compaction of the infill and the installation of a methane vent system prior to its purchase by Sainsbury's.
- 1992 Sainsbury's plc purchased the site and work began on a new superstore.
- The last stone to be removed from the Quarry was in 1995 when the Royal Botanical Gardens obtained some stone for the making of the Chinese Garden pathways.